Renault to Repackage Car Batteries for the Home

Renault is joining its car-making enemy Nissan in repurposing old electric car batteries for the home, with a deal with Powervault to see relatively affordable li-ion power units for the home go on sale in the UK.

Powervault says it should be able to get the price for a refurbished li-ion home battery pack down to about £3,000 should buyers opt for one using the previously-in-a-car cells, if, that is, the general population can be convinced that a massive battery on the wall would work wonders for their electricity bills by better gaming tariffs and/or saving power generated by solar panels in the garden or an array of hamsters chasing carrots on wheels in the garage for use at more expensive times.

A trial seeing the tech installed in 50 homes is scheduled to start this summer, with the lofty ambition being to have 30,000 of them smartly powering homes by 2020. [The Times]